This is something that I am cogitating for the past few days...why is the number of Online shoppers in India is so low when compared to other countries?
When e-Shopping was introduced in India, the number of players was very low. The penetration of Internet in the country was not great. Availability of credit/debit cards with the people was not great either. So, initially it was a tough time for e-Com companies. But over the years, all these factors have improved considerably but still online buying seems to be in its incipient stage.
If we keep away online travel and ticket booking and online broking, the number of transactions and amount transacted in e-Tailing (Retail) and other parts is not showing big jump. Though it is making constant progression, when compared with the number of new internet connections taken and number of new credit and debit cards taken, the jump in online transactions is quite discouraging.
So, my little research and discussion with people shows me that following reasons make Indians hesitate to buy online. 1) Cannot negotiate / bargain 2) Cannot get the feel of the product / try out 3) Fear about the security of the site 4) Delivery delays 5) Very less variety of options available. So, can we expect the online shopping market to grow if we bring in improvements in these areas? I don't think so. Even if we improve, it won't be drastic. We don't get the sense of satisfaction if we don't bargain :) and more importantly if we don't try it out.
Having said all these, even I don't prefer buying things online in India. When I was in UK, I bought even the most expensive things like my camera and laptop online. In fact I bought many things even from eBay. Where as, here in India, somehow I am not feeling like buying online though many good sites are available.
To avoid queues, may be we are using the online travel ticket booking facilities though they cost a bit more. But, even if it comes for a cheaper price online, we give a second thought about it. I am a perfect example of this. I bought shoes from the shop paying 300 bucks extra when it is available in www.futurebazaar.com for a cheaper price...I felt I should try the shoes before I purchase. And I am bound to think that my fella Indians are like me.
So, what's your take on this?
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Online shopping in India
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5 comments:
Ya guess u r right...though I browse thru a lot of stuff on net but rarely make any purchases online...the reason is not getting the chance to chk out the stuffs!!! I belive we Indians have a different mind set and way of living then the westeners...one can not simply copy paste the business model from west to India. Hope that someone will make online purchase experience as required by us...shall be a hell of a task though!!! :)
Yes Akshat. We do have a different mind set. But my doubt is how the same Indians, when working abroad, use the online shopping facilities (I have seen many ordering things online when I was in UK and believe same is the case with other countries as well).
So, there must be something wrong here which needs to be addresses in order to improve the online shopping experience.
I don't agree maappu... You know why e-shopping is still not so popular? Security! Govt related sites are being used widely because of the confidence that things won't screw up. The basic question is what will happen if a site gets your money and screws up? You'll go to the court? People will laugh at you! Whereas here (in US or west in general) you can claim a million dollars for not delivering something on time. That's the difference and that's the same reason why you or me will buy things here online but not back in India.
And FYI, shoes or other personal commodities are not the hot-selling items online even in US. Unless it is a brand like nike or adidas that has standard models and shapes that customers know from top of their head, it is not going to work out easily. Second comes the returns part. Here you could return anything - no questions asked. Over there you won't even know whom to talk to and if you go behind that, you'll spend more money on calls and internet than the product itself.
Some reasons that come to my mind in the West like UK or US, you can go to the store get a feel of the item understand about it and then search for a deal online, or we will see somthign that a friend has and order it. One more advantage is we can return the item if we are not satisfied.
@Yogaesh and anonymous
Yes. What you said is true. Thats why I have included security as one of the aspects. Here also some sites provide money back guarantee. But the question is whether they are veritable.
In UK the online sites of the popular stores (Garments and Shoes) do a decent job. As you told, if the person is not satisfied they can always return it back. The trust is yet to be built in India. Hope they do it soon.
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